Douglas Spector, et al. v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd.
Decided June 6, 2005. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 03-1388 · 545 U.S. 119 (2005) · Cited 124 times
Holding
The judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–3.
Majority · 3
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · delivered the opinion of the Court
- David Hackett Souter
- John Paul Stevens
Concurring · 3
- Clarence Thomas · filed a concurring opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a concurring opinion
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
Dissenting · 3
- Antonin Scalia · filed a dissenting opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Clark v. Martinez · 543 U.S. 371 (2005)
- McCulloch v. Sociedad Nacional De Marineros De Honduras · 372 U.S. 10 (1963)
- Benz v. Compania Naviera Hidalgo, S. A. · 353 U.S. 138 (1957)
- Zadvydas v. Davis · 533 U.S. 678 (2001)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co. · 499 U.S. 244 (1991)
- Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota · 534 U.S. 533 (2002)
- Jinks v. Richland County · 538 U.S. 456 (2003)
- Cunard Steamship Co. v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 100 (1923)
- Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California · 509 U.S. 764 (1993)
- Murray v. Schooner Charming Betsy · 6 U.S. 64 (1804)
- Small v. United States · 544 U.S. 385 (2005)
- United States v. Salerno · 481 U.S. 739 (1987)
- Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
- Lauritzen v. Larsen · 345 U.S. 571 (1953)
- Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis · 398 U.S. 306 (1970)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Jones v. Hendrix · 599 U.S. 465 (2023)
- West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2005). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).